->''"They wanted to be Music/TheBeatles. They wanted to be [[Music/TheRollingStones the Stones]]. OK, so a couple of them made itů but what about the rest?"''-->--Advertising blurb for the box set ''Nuggets II: Original Artifacts From the British Empire and Beyond''

Garage Rock is a raw form of rock music that is gets its name from the stereotype of amateur teenage musicians playing in {{Garage Band}}s. In reality, while this is how the genre got its start, today many such bands are composed of older and more professional musicians.

The first wave of garage rock lasted from around [[TheSixties 1963 to 1968]]. Perhaps the most influential (and definitely the most frequently covered) garage rock single was "Louie Louie", a tune written by Richard Berry, reintroduced by the Sonics and the Wailers and definitively covered by the Kingsmen. However, it was UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion that really started the deluge; Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones, and all the movement's other groups inspired countless teens from all over the world to form their own bands.

Nearly every early garage band that made a hit was a OneHitWonder, although some bands like The Sonics, The Standells, The Seeds, and especially Music/PaulRevereAndTheRaiders were slightly luckier. (Also, major names like Music/AliceCooper, Music/TedNugent, Music/IggyPop and Music/ToddRundgren got their starts in garage bands.) The double LP (and later CD box set) ''Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era: 1965-1968'', compiled by Music/PattiSmith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, contains a decent amount of these hits, as well as some "deep cuts" and even novelty songs from garage and PsychedelicRock. It also [[FollowTheLeader inspired]] countless similar compilations.

There is significant overlap between garage rock, SurfRock, FolkRock, TheBritishInvasion, PowerPop, and ProtoPunk. Question Mark & the Mysterians, The Monks, and a few later garage rock bands such as Music/TheStooges and Music/{{MC5}} are often considered to be the first PunkRock bands.

In TheSeventies and TheEighties, punk bands like Music/TheCramps and Music/TheRamones would create the first garage rock revival. But the most successful garage rock bands were formed in the 2000s, when Music/TheWhiteStripes, Music/TheStrokes, and Music/TheHives achieved commercial success that was unrivaled by even the first wave of garage rock bands.

The film ''Film/ThatThingYouDo'' is a tribute to this genre.

----!!Some influential mid-60s American Garage Rock bands:

[[index]]* Music/The13thFloorElevators ("You're Gonna Miss Me"; more PsychedelicRock than garage, but very influential on both genres)* Music/TheBluesMagoos ("We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet")* Music/TheCastaways ("Liar, Liar")* Music/TheChocolateWatchband ("Sweet Young Thing", "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)?")* Music/CountFive ("Psychotic Reaction")* Music/TheElectricPrunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night," "Get Me to the World on Time"; they were at the midpoint between garage and PsychedelicRock)* [[Music/TheFlaminGroovies The Flamin' Groovies]] (started in 1965, made their major impact in TheSeventies, and [[LongRunners finally split up]] in 1992)* Music/TheFugs ("Boobs A Lot", "Kill For Peace")** ''Music/TheFugsFirstAlbum'' (1965)** ''Music/TheFugsSecondAlbum'' (1966)* Music/TheKingsmen ("Louie Louie", "Jolly Green Giant")* Music/TheKnickerbockers ("Lies", "One-Track Mind")* Music/TheLeaves ("Hey Joe" [which became a Garage Rock standard], "Too Many People")* Music/{{Love}} (started as Garage, evolved into PsychedelicRock and BaroquePop)** ''Music/ForeverChanges'' (1967)* Music/{{MC5}}** ''Music/KickOutTheJams'' (1969)* Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (fronted by a white singer who'd become famous in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} for performing soul music in predominantly black clubs, they were a seminal Detroit rock band who influenced dozens of subsequent artists, including Music/BobSeger, Ted Nugent and Music/BruceSpringsteen)* Music/TheMonks (five American servicemen stationed in UsefulNotes/WestGermany whose unique sound was half-garage, half-PsychedelicRock)* Music/TheNazz (Music/ToddRundgren's first band; hits included "Open My Eyes" and the original version of "Hello, It's Me")* [[Music/QuestionMarkAndTheMysterians Question Mark & the Mysterians]] ("96 Tears")* Music/TheRemains ("Don't Look Back")* Music/PaulRevereAndTheRaiders (their garage era hits included "Kicks", "Hungry", "Him or Me", "Steppin' Out", and "Just Like Me"; they're also remembered for their 1971 comeback hit "Indian Reservation")* Music/TheRivieras ("California Sun")* Music/TheSeeds ("Pushin' Too Hard," "Can't Seem to Make You Mine," "Mr. Farmer")* Music/TheShadowsOfKnight (their version of "Gloria" [[invoked]] CoveredUp Them's original on the American charts)* Music/TheSonics ("Strychnine," "Psycho," "The Witch"; considered ''the'' ancestor of Washington state's AlternativeRock scene)* Music/TheStandells ("Dirty Water," "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White")* Music/TheStooges ("No Fun," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "1969"; they came along too late to be part of the original movement, but combined garage rock with proto-punk)** 1969 - ''[[Music/TheStoogesAlbum The Stooges]]''** 1970 - ''Music/FunHouse'' ** 1973 - ''Music/RawPower'' * Music/TheSwinginMedallions ("Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)", "I Found A Rainbow")* Music/TheTurtles (started as a garage-y FolkRock group before having pop hits like "Eleanor" and "Happy Together")* Music/TheTrashmen ("Surfin' Bird")* Music/TheWailers (not ''those'' [[Music/BobMarley Wailers]]; this group was from Tacoma and recorded the song "Tall Cool One", as well as one of the better known pre-Kingsmen revivals of "Louie Louie")* The Young Rascals (a one-time New Jersey bar band who grew out of a doo-wop group; they recorded three albums with a rough and ready white soul sound, becoming one of the few garage rock groups that enjoyed widespread mainstream success as pop stars, with hits like "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Any More" and "Good Lovin'". Sensing the winds of psychedelic change, they dropped the "Young" from their name and began recording jazz-influenced BaroquePop instead, with occasional nods to their soul band roots.)

* {{Flanderization}}: The original 60s garage bands were a diverse bunch; several bands performed [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles-like]] PowerPop or [[Music/TheByrds Byrds]]-ish FolkRock. However, the genre became best known for bands influenced by the tougher, R&B-inspired side of TheBritishInvasion, such as Music/TheRollingStones, Music/TheWho, Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheKinks and Music/TheYardbirds.* NamesTheSame[=/=][[SimilarlyNamedWorks Similarly Named Groups]]: In those pre-Internet days, it was all too easy for bands in different cities or countries to give themselves identical names without realizing it. Particular favorites included the Missing Links (used by 9 different bands), the Chosen Few (10 bands) and the Coachmen (11 bands).* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Most original garage bands were male, although there were a handful of female bands.* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Garage Rock makes musical and lyrical simplicity a virtue, partly out of necessity. One of its most appealing aspects is its contention that ''anybody'' can be in a band, with only a minimal amount of practice.